New Testing Process Makes History
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Blood Center made history this week as the first blood center in the country to move its HTLV l / ll antibody test to the PRISM, an automated testing system. This mandated test checks donated blood for the HTLV l / ll virus, a virus that is very rare in the United States but one that can sometimes lead to serious disease.
Although the HTLV l / ll test is not new, conducting it on the automated PRISM system is.
“The PRISM provides for more accurate and sensitive testing, which results in fewer donors lost to false positive test results,” said Kentucky Blood Center Medical Director Elpidio Peña, M.D.
PRISM was first put into operation at Kentucky Blood Center in 2007, with the help of a $137,800 grant from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. By moving the test from the traditional hands-on, labor-intensive equipment to quicker, more streamlined technology, Kentucky Blood Center testing lab staff are able to save time and focus on other duties. This new testing process also requires less paperwork and provides test results in three hours as compared to eight hours for the older equipment.
PRISM, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, is already being used to perform three other mandated tests. In all, each unit of blood undergoes 13 tests. Nine of the tests are done at Kentucky Blood Center while four are conducted by a reference laboratory.
Using the PRISM speeds up the testing process and enables staff to walk away from the machine and attend to other duties. The efficiency of PRISM will also be useful as Kentucky Blood Center increases blood donations by 25% in the next three years to keep pace with the medical community’s growing demand for blood products.
The Kentucky Blood Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring a safe, adequate blood supply for 67 Kentucky hospitals and clinics thanks to generous blood donors in 62 Kentucky counties.